Alexis Kestler
As we already said in our post Pinterest marketing, the most common obstacle we meet in the marketing world is that sometimes ads are too expensive.
As we already said in our post about Pinterest marketing, one of the most common obstacles we meet in the marketing world is that sometimes ads are too expensive. Luckily, social media networks, and we also count in Pinterest, are a free and powerful tool. With their growth in popularity every day, they might become the most essential tool.
The popularity of Pinterest was maybe not so huge at the beginning, comparing to other common networks. It was a closed (beta) website for two years, before opening to a wider public. It took a while until it grew into what it is today – a platform with 322 million monthly active users.
The real worth of Pinterest marketing lies in business accounts. With creating one, you will get great marketing features to promote your brand in one of the fastest-growing and popular social media networks. Let’s check what the fuss is all about.
Pinterest for Business
If you still haven’t used Pinterest, or you just had a personal account, you will need to create a business account. You can go to this link, click on “sign up” and follow the instructions.
Despite this account is suited for your business, that doesn’t mean you can spam others. Do not ask users to comment, vote, or repin all the time. Do not run contests and promotions too often, and don’t indicate that Pinterest “sponsors” you. This is just a social media network and every abuse will have its consequences, just as Facebook and Instagram would ban your account for even less.
Pinterest is supporting its users by giving them educational materials. One of them is an interesting Pinterest webinar you can follow or a news blog. Also, you might want to check brand guidelines to be sure you’ll do things the right way.
Analytics
Pinterest marketing wouldn’t be comprehensive without an insight into your metrics. You can choose any period to track what is engaging your customers the most. You can see which of your pins are repined and who are the visitors doing that, how many times your pins are appearing in search results across multiple platforms, how many users have seen your pins, visited your website (from Pinterest), click on it, and of course – increase or decrease of your statistic over a given period.
How to Create Great Pins
According to statistics, each pin is average repinned 10 times, it drives 2 users to your website and 6 to your page. You will want every pin to be great so it can fulfill its potential.
If you want to create great pins, you have to understand how Pinterest works. And who are the people that spend their time searching it.
First of all, you need to figure out which are the most popular categories. Pinterest released an article Pinterest 100: The top trends to inspire and try in 2020 which can be a lot of help there. A list has ten different categories with a lot of trends which has grown throughout the year. It shows what are people all over the world searching.
For your business pins, choose something that is at least somehow connected to what you do, but still make sure to be found. If you can post under some of these, that is great. But keep in mind that your content must be relevant to your business.
Second, your phots must be extraordinary to stand out from the crowd. Pinterest is clearly a visual network. Here are the few things you can do to improve your photos:
- Use clear and high-resolution photos
- Use lighter images, or apply a filter that will lighten it up
- Unlike other social media networks, Pinterest does not like selfies – use photos without faces
- Size your pins at 2:3 aspect ratio (for example: 1000x1500px) – that means your image’s width is ⅔ its height
Third, use Pinterest’s infinite length feature to post infographics. If your business allows you to create DIY or how-to instructions, that is great because these are extremely popular.
Optimize your Pins
Creating great pins is one step of Pinterest marketing, but getting your pins viewed and repined is a whole another level. No matter how great it is, it will not get out there easily, the competition is big. That is why you need to optimize it.
Connect your account with other social media accounts, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Add the “pin” button to your website and all photos you might have there, so they are easily shared. It is extremely easy to integrate this button if you use WordPress. Also, share pins in your newsletters.
Writing your pin’s description, include some keywords, especially in the title.
When you continue to use Pinterest for some time, your analytics will show you the best time to share your pins. That depends on your audience. From the beginning try to do it in the afternoon (somewhere between 2 and 4 p.m.) and late evening.
Post Frequently
If you want to get more followers, you should post a minimum of 5 times per day. That may seem like a lot of work, but there is a catch: save your pins (in the morning e.g.) in a secret board which only you can see. During the day just repost them.
You can post a mix of content you created and repining other’s posts. Just make sure to spread them through the day, so it will be noticed. Once you put this into your daily routine, it will be a piece of cake.
Engage
Just like in any other social media network, using Pinterest also means engaging and communicating. Even though is mostly a visual platform, it also has other features that will allow you to connect with other people.
The most important thing is to answer questions and comments of your followers. Once you build a relationship with them, you can tag them by using their name in some of the posts you think they might like. Don’t forget that engagement is reciprocal, so comment their pins regularly, and be creative and unique. That way you have a chance to get interested some of their followers.
From the beginning, you will still learn what works in Pinterest marketing, and what is not. By following some popular boards, you can see it first hand! That doesn’t mean copying from the scratch, of course. But you can always get great ideas observing what other (successful) businesses do. Watch what kind of pins they create, what boards they have, and what is their level of engagement. Follow the boards that are related to your business, and if you see something that you like, be free to comment. You can also connect to those people while you are learning.
You are also able to create something called open board, and there your followers are free to post their pins. As a moderator, you are in control of everything, but it is a user-generated-content that can be handy.
If you are a blogger, you might want to create a board just for your blog posts. By using rich pins (a pin that automatically syncs information from your website to your pin) you can make this board extra interesting and drive traffic to your website. Put it at the top of your page.
Analytics
Pinterest analytics is an only-business account feature, and it allows you to see which of your pins and boards are the most popular, what people save from your page, who is your audience (including gender, location, etc.), which devices they are using and so on. Use this information wisely.
These metrics are the easiest way to find out what is working and what is not. By acknowledging this, you will be able to plan your Pinterest marketing strategy. Note: to be able to access analytics, you will have to verify your website linked to your account. You can do this in the settings by adding a verification badge.
By following the strategies we presented to you and learn from it, your Pinterest account will grow and attract organic followers. And, hopefully, direct them to your website. Use this amazing platform to your advantage. Good luck!
